Troops foil attack on Kashmir minister

The rebels were shot late Monday in the frontier of southern Poonch district minutes after they stepped into Indian Kashmir from the Pakistani-run part of the divided state, a police spokesman said.

"They were asked to surrender but they instead opted to fight," he said, adding the bodies were lying near the Line of Control -- the de facto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

The two nations both hold part of the scenic region but claim it in full.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and funding Kashmiri rebels, who are waging an anti-Indian insurgency since 1989. Pakistan denies the charge but says it gives political and moral support to the separatists.